The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for isolating valuable or toxic substances from a source containing such materials.
It is well known that precious metals and toxic substances can be contained in small amounts in a composite material that may include a mixture of soil, rocks, ores, metals, minerals, tailings, and the like. In the instance of precious metals, the amount of precious metals in a volume of composite materials may be quite small, but the volume of composite materials may be very large. If the precious metals can be extracted to a high degree, substantial and valuable amounts of precious metals can be obtained. Similarly, in the case of toxic substances, their presence in even lower, trace amounts in composite materials can present a similar environmental or human hazard. If not extracted from the large volumes of composite materials, it becomes necessary to dispose of all of the composite materials, which is very costly and greatly impacts the environment. If the toxic substances could be extracted and disposed of separately, the cost of disposal and the environmental problem are greatly reduced.
While extraction devices and processes have been known in the past, frequently they have produced large amounts of polluted water or required special handling in order to perform extraction. This has significantly raised the cost of separation attempts and frequently made it financially unjustifiable to process the large volumes of composite materials in order to extract precious metals or toxic substances. Also, the prior art extraction devices and processes were inefficient resulting in incomplete extraction of precious metals or toxic substances. Accordingly, there is a need for a more efficient extraction method and apparatus as well as a method and apparatus that can be easily transferred and employed at the location of the composite material.